Lost and Found
by Bellabrew
Summary: Set 13 years after Sarah's adventure in the Labyrinth. She is a teacher with a student with a familiar obsession with the Labyrinth and an annoying sibling. Can she rescue another child from the Goblin King? Will true love be lost or found?
1. Chapter 1

AN: I don't own anything, this was just something I wanted to share with other fans. This is my first fan fic so please be gentle and understanding. Any errors are my own. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

"I was just like you when I was your age." Sarah looked closely at Amber it was almost like looking at a negative. Where Sarah was and had been dark haired with fair skin, the Sophomore was a blonde with a tan. "I loved this book too, but I am a little concerned you seem to be withdrawing into the fantasy world." She picked up the girl's copy of Labyrinth and smiled at memories she hadn't really thought of in thirteen years. Sarah could recall a similar conversation with her English teacher.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me, I just might surprise you."

"Even if I did want to talk, which I don't. I gotta get home to watch my baby sister." The girl picked up her backpack and left the classroom.

Sarah pulled her dark hair down from the bun, glad the day was finally over. Stretching her neck by rolling her head in a circle from shoulder to chest to shoulder. She sighed, "Oh Jareth. What are you doing with my student?" She didn't expect an answer. Her calls to the Labyrinth and the responses from them had gotten fewer and farther apart over the years. She was afraid it was like the movie she'd seen about the 'Neverending Story.' That as she'd outgrown using her imagination, the labyrinth had ceased to exist, the thought terrified her.

So just shy of her twenty-ninth birthday she'd left her well paying corporate job with a publishing company to teach literature and drama to a bunch of teenagers. Her parents, step-mother Karen and all her friends thought she was having a nervous breakdown.

Maybe she was, but not the way they thought. Sarah would give anything to get back that spark of magic that had been missing from her life recently. No not recently she corrected herself silently. It had been missing for a long time now.

Amber had been so anxious to leave that she'd left her book. Sarah opened it and her eyes caught on the familiar passage. "Give me the child. Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the goblin city." She shut the book as she answered her ringing cell phone. "Hello."

"Hey beautiful."

"Matt."

"So I was thinking of coming up this weekend, checking out your new digs, and maybe break in the new bedroom over a bottle of Dom."

Sarah swallowed at the thought; she'd rather kiss a goblin. Without thinking she dropped the book into her purse. "Gosh I'm sorry I can't. I have a lot of work to do this weekend. Sorry I have to run, late for a meeting, but it was nice talking to you." She turned off the phone without waiting for him to reply. She knew it was rude, but he hadn't listened to any of her polite hints that she wasn't interested. Maybe this more direct approach would work.

Sarah grabbed the last of her things. It had been a long week and all she wanted was to go home, take a long hot bath and curl up with a good book. She smiled as she turned onto her street and caught the street sign 'Shadowfax Way.' Maybe all the magic wasn't gone from her life. Sarah liked the new life she was creating for herself better than the one she'd left behind in San Francisco.

Her new home was the darling cottage at the end of the road. Stepping out of the car she trailed her free hand over the white picket fence, opening the gate to step into her yard. Tomorrow she'd sit in the Living Room enjoying the daffodils blooming beneath her Crepe Myrtle tree.

"Merry, Pippin, I'm home." She announced to her cats as she set her things down. Scratching the fluffy white cat's head and then petting the other one's black head. Walking through to her bedroom she thought about Matt's call. She couldn't imagine him in her bedroom. She tried to picture the tall, dark haired, blue eyed stockbroker on her bed and giggled. No, he didn't belong in this room.

It wasn't the fantasy princess bedroom of her youth. Though certain things remained; a few stuffed animals, her vanity and other items too precious to move far away. The rest was either in storage or in the spare bedroom. The princess had grown up and had adult fantasies now. She sat bed, enjoying the rustle of the silky comforter beneath her as she removed her shoes.

She caught sight of the plush white owl sitting on a pillow and wondered what Jareth would think of her bedroom. Would he appreciate the dark blue silk sheets? Or the wispy black netting the draping the four poster bed? She could imagine his sardonic grin at seeing the pictures on her walls. There was the one of the stairs that reminded her of their final meeting. Another of a hand holding a crystal sphere that reminded her of his magic. Finally there was her own attempt to capture Jareth in black and white with charcoal. She hadn't captured him, not really, but it was the best of more than a dozen different attempts. His face was mostly in shadow.

She'd found herself thinking of the Goblin King more often since she'd discovered Amber's interest in the book. It had reminded her of that magical time. She walked to her vanity and wound the music box. Slipping into a cotton nightgown, she laid back on the bed and listened to the music.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember the memories that haunted her dreams and fantasies. Of all the things that had happened to her in the labyrinth she expected to remember the experience, but hadn't expected to be haunted by the Goblin King. Haunted by his touch, his eyes and her own desire for him.

"I want to remember it all." Sarah whispered, trying to recapture the magic of the masquerade and how it had felt to be close to him. That final meeting where he'd offered Sarah her dreams. She hadn't really listened then, but had re-lived it so often in her dreams that she could remember the look in his eyes when she'd said those six terrible words.

It had taken years for her to give up trying to pretend it never happened and live a normal life. Another decade had passed before she was finally ready to admit that she compared every man to him and it was an impossibly high standard for a mortal man. She longed to return to the Underworld, but was terrified of being rejected. It was easier to be unhappy, then to know how much he loathed the girl who'd defeated him.

She felt a tear trickle down her face as she looked at her drawing of him, but didn't brush it away. That picture seemed an appropriate decoration in a bedroom that was a tribute to lost love. It was only now that she realized that Jareth had more power over her than any other person had before or since. A tear ran down the other cheek. She had lied in the labyrinth, lied to him and to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I don't own anything, this was just something I wanted to share with other fans. This is my first fan fic so please be gentle and understanding. Any errors are my own. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Thanks to DemonicSymphony and Ymir-chan your wonderful reviews, kind words and interest really helped me get back to work on the story so quickly.

Lounging on his throne the Goblin King sat with one leg thrown over the side and the other tapping the floor as he spun a crystal ball round on his hand as he debated who to watch. Should he take a peek at Sarah and satisfy the curiosity he'd felt since hearing her say his name, or watch the girl who might be the next one to enter his labyrinth.

When the sphere stopped it settled on Amber. He watched as the girl pushed her blonde hair out of her face with one hand, adjusted her baby sister so the child was now sitting on her other hip as they continued walking the hallway, turning and coming back in the other direction. The baby's face was red and blotchy from crying, it was obvious she'd been at it for a while.

With an experienced eye born of years of practice Jareth recognized how close Amber was to the edge as she continued to walk with her little sister who hadn't stopped crying. This girl had been pushed to far and would probably call for the goblins to take the baby away soon. Observing her for a few minutes, he didn't see anything remarkable about the girl. No, Amber wouldn't be much of an opponent.

She was just another one who would attempt his labyrinth and fail. She didn't have a tenth of the passion, imagination, strength and beauty Sarah had had at that age. He was bored of winning easily because the opponent hadn't been challenging. Flashing in the light as he moved the crystal ball from one hand to the other while he changed the view from the teen to Sarah.

The years had been kind to her he thought. Her long hair was still a long dark curtain framing her face. A face that had lost some of its innocence, but none of its beauty. She was curled up on a couch with her cats and a book. Looking at the cover he smiled as the picture on the front clearly showed she was reading a fantasy novel.

His breath caught as she raised her head to meet his gaze, as if she knew he was watching her. He stared into her eyes that appeared more blue-grey than hazel at the moment. Sarah hadn't changed much, he thought as he made the crystal disappear, but wasn't sure that if he found that thought more comforting or disturbing.

Stalking out of the throne room, he went to the room where her memory was strongest. Walking on the stairs that defied gravity the same ones she had chased him on. He could almost hear her still as she declared that he had no power over her and smiled. Even that blow to his ego had been lessened because she had been a worthy adversary.

Privately he longed for a challenge like that. A worthy opponent who was up to the task, who challenged both the labyrinth and its King at every turn. He had felt truly alive during her adventure. She was a rare delight as she challenged his mind, body, and spirit. Forcing him to adapt and respond to her intelligence, charm and strengths.

It was only after her declaration that the pain had come. Pain because he had wanted her to be happy and didn't think she would be. He had hoped in the end she would choose to stay with him, the magic and her friends. Instead she had returned to the mortal world. A world destined to disappoint and destroy Sarah because it would not, could not appreciate her talents, passion and imagination.

The men of that world wouldn't appreciate her. They wouldn't take the time to seduce her mind and body while appreciating her passion and vibrant spirit. He remembered the electric almost magnetic pull that had arched between them. Jareth hadn't acted on his desire then, even though he'd seen her desire for him reflected in her eyes, because she had only been a child. She was no longer a child he reminded himself. If she came to his labyrinth now as a full grown woman things would be very different.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I don't own anything, not the story, characters or actors. This is just something I wanted to share for the enjoyment of other fans like myself.**

**My thanks to my wonderful reviewers. I really appreciate all your encouragement. Just to let you know I have no plans to leave this story incomplete and am grateful to have you join me on this adventure. **

Sarah set the book down; it just couldn't hold her attention tonight. _Because none of the characters was Jareth_, the inner voice whispered. She didn't want to admit it to herself or anyone else, but knew it was true. The characters in this book seemed flat compared to the ones in Amber's book. Of course the plot was obvious to anyone who read as many novels as she had. Carefully moving so she wouldn't disturb the cats she got up from the couch. She'd picked up the book after her little episode in her bedroom hoping it would banish thoughts of the Goblin King, only to find herself unable to focus on the book.

She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him or the friends she'd made in the labyrinth. It was if touching Amber's Labyrinth book had opened a doorway to her past. It was too late for a job to clear her mind so she tried pacing. It only took one quick circuit around the room only to end up at her front door to realize the small cottage wasn't really designed for pacing. Though she continued and made another two circuits before her foot struck her purse, knocking it over. "Great." She mumbled under her breath as she started picking things up and putting them back in the bag.

Her hand rested on the book that had started it all. She had been unsuccessful distracting her thoughts from Jareth, maybe it would be better just to surrender to it. "No harm ever came from just reading a book." She told herself as she stood up and headed back for the couch. Opening the pages reverently she began only to stop after a few sentences. If reading some books were like meeting old friends, then this book was like slipping into an old lover's embrace. Every word was familiar and soothing as it took her back thirteen years. Within minutes she closed her eyes and was back there again standing in front of the brownish stones on the labyrinth outer wall searching for a way in. She needed to get to the castle of the Goblin King that was past the Goblin city. She ran her hand along the stones searching for an opening. Finally she felt open air on her hands and stepped through the portal.

The air in the labyrinth was different it from the outside. Looking up she noticed the sky was dark, smoky and didn't look right. This wasn't a natural night sky or darkness caused by a storm. It reminded her of pictures she'd seen on the news of the sky after a big forest fire. Then she saw the wispy grey clouds, but it wasn't cold like fog and it didn't smell right. Sarah felt tears on her cheeks, but wasn't sure if it was from the smoky air burning her eyes or some emotion she didn't want to name yet.

Her heart pounded in her ears as she raced through the labyrinth making turns without thought relying on instinct to get her through. After not running into the obstacles she remembered from her previous experience. That more than the smoky air fueled her frantic and reckless pace. Sarah's concern at the strange sky turned into gut wrenching fear at what this all meant.

Finally the narrow path she'd been following widen to a trail and then opened to a large stone plaza. The smoke was heavier here, but the plaza was filled with the residents. She saw lots of goblins and over in the corner near the front she spotted Ludo. "Excuse me," she kept repeating as she pushed and slid through the crowd, desperate to find the cause of the gathering.

Finally reaching the front she stood with her friends. Looking at the spot everyone seemed to be staring at. Through a wall of flames she could just make out the Goblin King as handsome as she remembered laid out on a funeral pyre. She watched in disbelief as the flames rose higher and higher until Jareth was hidden from view.

"Hoggle what hap…happened?"

"Peoples stop believing in magic and we dies." Hoggle said simply.

"No. Jareth." She choked out a sob, as the tears streamed down her face as she collapsed into Hoggle's arms. The dwarf was uncomfortable with his friend's grief, but patted her back in a way that was supposed to be soothing. Followed by a gentle patting on her check by a furry paw she thought was probably Sir Didimas.

Opening her eyes she found herself not eye to eye with the brave knight, but her black cat Pippin who was patting her face watching intently as the tears rolled down his mistress' face.

"It was only a dream." Her voice was hoarse and the arm of the sofa was damp. She'd been having terrible nightmares over the past few months about the labyrinth. Usually the dreams were more like the movie where the labyrinth just disappeared into nothingness. This was the first time the Goblin King had died. It frightened her more than the others had, because it wasn't just a really bad dream it was the nightmare that had seemed all too real while it revealed her worst fear.

**Keep up the wonderful reviews, all the kind words and your interest in the story really do inspire me to work on it and post updates for you as quick as I can.**


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